


Out of Element

by beloved_key



Series: Delegation [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emetophobia, Gen or Pre-Slash, Human Biology, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Protective Kolivan (Voltron), Sickfic, Whump, slight langst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 01:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beloved_key/pseuds/beloved_key
Summary: Four hooded figures stood still in the docking bay for a moment, breathing heavily. They allowed themselves only a second to reassure themselves that, yes, they were still alive, before springing back into action, one running for the cockpit, another to man the guns, and the third turning to the fourth, smallest one, who was kneeling on the floor of the ship, gasping for air.“You were lagging behind, Paladin.”





	Out of Element

Four hooded figures stood still in the docking bay for a moment, breathing heavily. They allowed themselves only a second to reassure themselves that, yes, they were still alive, before springing back into action, one running for the cockpit, another to man the guns, and the third turning to the fourth, smallest one, who was kneeling on the floor of the ship, gasping for air.

“You were lagging behind, Paladin.”

Both reached up to free their faces from their masks; Kolivan noted that Keith’s hair didn’t spring back into shape as it usually did, since it was stuck to his forehead with… Sweat? Yes, he seemed to remember Keith explaining it to a concerned Blade after a particularly intense training session. Sweat. Normal after exertion for humans and human-hybrids. Nothing to be concerned about.

Certainly nothing to explain Keith’s slacking off on the last mission.

Keith reached up to shove his hood back, seemingly unable to catch his breath. He went to reply, but lost his balance, just barely catching himself on his hands as the ship shuddered, pulling away from the evac point and setting off for friendly space at top-speed. Keith blinked at the sudden movement, mouth clenched shut and eyes trained on the floor.

“I had to carry you to the evac point. We were almost discovered. Such negligence is unlike you.” Kolivan pressed further. Keith may be tired, but so were they all. He had endured much more strenuous missions in the past. This sort of slacking-off could not be tolerated. It could result in the Paladin’s death next time.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Keith grit out. He seemed reluctant to unclench his teeth. “I-I got dizzy, I don’t know what happened.”

Dizzy. “When asked earlier, you stated that you were prepared for this mission.” Kolivan had asked Keith if he was alright after he’d slept later than usual, ate less than usual, spoke less than usual (though he didn’t speak much to begin with.) “Did your condition change suddenly?”

Keith shook his head jerkily, but Kolivan doubted the Paladin’s silent assertion. The boy’s face was paler than normal, eyes sunken and almost bruised, his cheeks blotchier than any mission should reasonably account for. Now that Kolivan was looking, Keith’s arms shook under his own weight, he breathed shallowly through his nose, and the Blade couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t think Keith normally kept his jaw shut that tightly… 

Still… This had been a routine mission, while the one they had coming up tomorrow was vital. If Keith was that strained from recent activity, his time would have been better spent resting and preparing for the following day rather than filling an empty slot in a simple assignment like this.

“Paladin, you know what tomorrow’s mission means to us. This sort of performance will not be tolerated--”

Kolivan’s voice stuttered to a halt as Keith gave a startling gag, then finally opened his jaw, unleashing a mouthful of… Liquid, onto the floor of the docking bay. Before Kolivan could react, another puddle of sick joined the first, then another, and another… 

Uncertain, Kolivan knelt down next to Keith and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, startled to find tears pouring down his cheeks. “Paladin. Keith? What is wrong?”

Gagging finally stopped, Keith just bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. Kolivan moved to brush Keith’s hair out of his face, but hesitated as his hand made contact with the boy’s skin.

“Your temperature is unusually elevated.” He murmured. Gently, Kolivan eased Keith into his arms and made for the small bunkroom. When Keith murmured something about the mess, Kolivan just shook his head. “It will be dealt with. For now, I am only interested in what you need.”

Keith, for his part, wasn’t sure he could think clearly enough to tell Kolivan what he needed. His fevered mind couldn’t hold onto one train of thought long enough to follow it to a solution, and the lingering panic from vomiting so suddenly certainly didn’t help. All Keith could think of was the last time he’d gotten sick like this; awhile ago, before Shiro had shown up again, and all he’d had was…

“Lance.” Keith muttered, voice tight and shaky with panic. “Lance… Helps. Knows how.”

Kolivan’s brow furrowed. Not the answer he’d expected, but… “Very well.” He gently lay Keith on one of the bunks, then went to inform the pilot that there’d been a change of plans, and they should head for the Castle of Lions.

\---

Though the rest of the Paladins found the exhibitions exhausting and, at points, vaguely humiliating, they always left Lance feeling invigorated and enthusiastic. If the shows inspired the alien races they’d freed even half as much as they inspired Lance himself, then it was no wonder the Coalition was growing so swiftly.

Plus, it wasn’t like Lance was going to complain about any chance to show off his acrobatics skills. The look on Shiro’s face alone when he’d first revealed he could ribbon dance made this whole space-war-adventure worth it, in Lance’s opinion.

While the others went off to collapse somewhere and nurse their egos, Lance wandered off to the hangars with the intention of giving Red a good scrub-down (lion bonding with his best boy was a nice way to wind down). However, upon seeing Kolivan walk through the door with Keith huddled in his arms, Lance’s plans quickly changed.

“Paladin--” Kolivan tried to greet him, but Lance had already rushed forward and started talking.

“What the quiznak happened?!? Is he okay, is he hurt, I know how to run the cryopods, we should head there now, oh god--”

“He is unharmed.” Kolivan interrupted. “His health… Deteriorated, quite suddenly whilst on a mission. He wasn’t injured, but he was… Expelling acidic liquids, he appears weakened, and his temperature is elevated beyond normal.”

Blinking, Lance glanced down at Keith’s face; scrunched up in distress, jaw clenched shut, hair damp with sweat… Wait, his jaw was clenched, shit, shit--

“Bathroom, bathroom now!” Lance yelped, gunning it down the hall. Luckily, Kolivan got the hint to follow quickly, and double luckily, there was a bathroom just around the corner. Soon enough, Keith was kneeling in front of the toilet, gearing up to lose what little was left in his stomach while Lance murmured comfortingly in his ear and Kolivan lingered awkwardly in the background.

“Easy there, buddy, I gotcha, you’re fine--”

“H-H-H-Hate this…” Keith whimpered.

“I know, Keith, I know, but I got your back, remember? At the end of the day, I always got your back.” Lance soothed, quickly tying Keith’s hair back and placing a comforting hand at the base of his neck. “Just let it go. I know it sucks, I know you’re scared, but I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner we can get some meds into you, yeah?”

It took a little more cajoling, but eventually Keith stopping fighting the nausea, coughing up a few mouthfuls of bile. When he was finally done, Lance leaned back against the wall and eased Keith against his chest, then turned to Kolivan.

“Could you get a cup of water from the sink there?” He asked, gesturing to the other side of the bathroom. “He needs to rehydrate, especially if this is the second time he’s thrown up, and I wanna make sure he can keep something down before giving him medicine.”

“Right, of course.” Kolivan, startled at being addressed but relieved to be of use at last, grabbed a cup out of the small cupboard and filled it with water. Lance accepted it with a quick nod of thanks, refocusing on Keith, who was still crying.

“Easy, just sip it slowly, that’s it…” As Lance gently coaxed Keith into downing the whole cup, Kolivan noted that he’d never have guessed the loud and boisterous Paladin would’ve been so… Nurturing. Lance’s name certainly wasn’t the response Kolivan had been expecting from Keith when asked what he needed to feel better, but now, watching Lance effortlessly calm his friend’s frayed nerves… The Blade understood why.

“Glad as I am you came to visit, I wish it had been under better circumstances.” Lance teased gently, setting aside the empty glass and readjusting so Keith was more upright. Keith, eyes now dry of tears, managed a weak smirk.

“You gonna scold me for not taking better care of myself?”

Lance shrugged. “Nah. Didn’t work before, so I figure I’ll just have to make do with damage control after the fact.”

“You sure Loverboy Lance is up to a task so unglamorous?” Keith muttered, chuckling at Lance’s affronted gasp.

“You saw tha--I mean, um…” It was a valiant effort, but eventually Lance regained his usual cocky tone. “Hey, a public figure such as myself has to be generous, right?”

Keith snorted, eyes slipping shut. Sighing, Lance jostled him slightly. “Think you can make it to bed, samurai?”

Keith grimaced, but nodded, allowing Lance to scoop him up and start walking towards the living areas, Kolivan trailing awkwardly behind. As soon as Keith was settled in Lance’s bed, he started to doze, and Lance turned to Kolivan.

“Okay, so I need you to head to the infirmary--” Lance grabbed a blank data pad, tapping some numbers into the screen. “--and put this serial into the synthesizer. Bring the meds it spits out and a glass of water back here, okay? I wouldn’t say no to a rag soaked in water, too, if you can.”

Part of Kolivan bristled at being issued orders by a child--paladin or no--but reminding himself that he was severely outclassed for knowledge and skill in this subject, he accepted the data pad without protest. “Of course. Will he be fit for duty tomorrow?”

“Oh, quiznak, no!” Lance exclaimed, looking down at Keith with concern. “Maybe he would’ve been, if you hadn’t had him gallivanting about on some Galra ship while he’s sick, but now? He’ll need a few days’ bedrest, at least. Unless you want him passing out or throwing up in a Galra air vent or whatever you guys use to get around.”

Disappointment and concern stirred in Kolivan’s chest. Keith had been prepped for the mission days beforehand, not to mention that somehow the boy’s condition had worsened with unsettling speed under Kolivan’s watch… Had he been working Keith too hard? Was this a freak occurrence, or was his understanding of human (hybrid) limits that flawed? 

“Lance can.”

Both turned to the bed, to see Keith’s eyes cracked open, face steely with certainty. “Lance can manage it. He’s good at adapting, and better at stealth than I am, anyway. He can take Eltin’s position as sniper, and Eltin can switch to my position. That way, you don’t need to explain all the specs and tech to Lance, and you’ll probably have an even better shot covering you.”

Kolivan’s first impulse was to refuse--it was too sudden a change in too sensitive an operation--but… Fever or no, Keith made some solid points, and the mission was vital. Assuming he could negotiate with the Princess for use of Lance for one day, it just might work.

“It does appear to be our best option.” Kolivan turned to Lance, who looked unsure. “If you agree, Paladin, your assistance could lead to the success of a vital mission for the Blade and the resistance in general. The window of opportunity is narrow, we cannot wait for Keith’s recovery. We would be grateful for your cooperation.”

Fidgeting nervously, Lance glanced back at Keith, who nodded. “You can do it, Lance. I know you can.”

The confidence in Keith’s tone bled into Lance, who sighed and turned back to Kolivan. “Well, Shiro’s gonna be pissed, but… I’ll do it. As soon as Keith’s settled you can fill me in.”

“Thank you, Lance.” Relief shone through Kolivan’s careful mask of indifference. “This means the world to the Blade. Now, I’ll go retrieve what you need for Keith and then… Discuss, this with the Princess.” As Kolivan left, Lance sat down at the edge of the bed, pointedly not making eye contact with Keith.

“You… Didn’t even hesitate to suggest me.” He muttered, wrapping himself in a loose hug. “This sounds like a big deal. You really think I’m the right person for the job?”

Keith reached a shaky hand to grab Lance’s. “I didn’t hesitate because I didn’t need to. I know you’re the right person for the job. Besides…” Keith managed a weak smile. “I trust you to take care of things when I can’t. You always got my back, right?”

Lance smiled, eyes feeling a bit wet. He squeezed Keith’s hand and murmured, “Right.”

Lance’s concern was unfounded, as the mission was a complete success. Kolivan was relieved that Keith was well by the time their next time-sensitive mission came up; he was relatively certain Allura would’ve tossed him out an airlock if he’d tried to commandeer one of her Paladins again.

**Author's Note:**

> Last in the "Keith has Emetophobia and Shit Goes From There" AU! I'm proud of these three, I hope you enjoyed them as well! Feel free to comment/kudos, love you!


End file.
